Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó condemns new EU measures that could undermine Hungary’s utility cost reduction program.Continue reading
Hungarian households are paying one of the lowest energy prices in Europe, according to data from Eurostat. The government wants to maintain the utility bill cuts, but the European Union seemingly has other plans: they want to ban all Russian gas imports by 2027, a plan that would increase prices greatly in all EU countries.
Household electricity prices increased in 10, and decreased in 14 EU countries in the second half of 2024, compared with the second half of 2023, Eurostat data shows. In the second half of 2024, compared with the second half of 2023, household electricity prices in the EU showed the highest increase in Portugal (14%). The largest decrease was observed in Latvia (-18%).
For household consumers in the EU, electricity prices in the second half of 2024, were highest in Germany (€0.3943 per KWh), Denmark (€0.3763 per KWh), Ireland (€0.3699 per KWh), and Belgium (€0.3313 per KWh). The lowest prices were observed in Hungary (€0.1032 per KWh), Bulgaria (€0.1217 per KWh), and Malta (€0.1301 per KWh).
For German household consumers, the per KWh cost was 37% above the EU average price, whereas households in Hungary, Bulgaria, and Malta paid less than half the price of the EU average.
The EU average price in the second half of 2024 — a weighted average using the most recent (2023) consumption data for electricity by household consumers — was €0.2872 per KWh.
Regarding natural gas, year-on-year household prices in the second half of 2024, increased in six EU countries, while they decreased in 14 EU countries. For household consumers in the EU, natural gas prices in the second half of 2024, were highest in Sweden (€0.1893 per Kilowatt hour (KWh)), the Netherlands (€0.1671 per KWh), and Italy (€0.1586 per KWh). They were lowest in Hungary (€0.0320 per KWh), Croatia (€0.0460 per KWh), and Romania (€0.0540 per KWh).
The price of natural gas for households in Sweden was more than six times the price charged in Hungary and 54% higher than the EU average price.
In the second half of 2024, natural gas prices for EU household consumers (expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS) per 100 kWh) were highest in:
Portugal (16.60 PPS per 100 kWh)
Italy (16.49)Lowest:
Hungary (4.72)
Luxembourg (5.57)https://t.co/UeemEmGLdB pic.twitter.com/Gm9e5qRGqx
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) May 6, 2025
The average natural gas price for household consumers in the EU, calculated as a weighted average using the most recent consumption data from 2023, and prices from the second half of 2024, was €0.1233 per KWh.
Meanwhile, the European Commission’s President announced on Wednesday that the EU needs to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Ursula von der Leyen added that she would propose a ban on new Russian contracts by the end of 2025 at the latest.
We will work to ban all remaining Russian gas imports, both piped and LNG, by the end of 2027 at the latest,”
she stated. In practice, this would mean that Hungary would have to cancel its utility bill cuts, hence if von der Leyen’s plan goes ahead, Hungarian consumers would have to pay three to four times as much for energy as they do now.
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó reacted by saying that the plan to end Russian energy imports is an attack on Hungary’s utility bill cuts, which would increase the country’s energy import costs by roughly 1.5 billion euros annually. In a Facebook post, he wrote that for Hungary, the danger does not lie in natural gas, crude oil, or nuclear fuel coming from Russia, but in these supplies not reaching the country.
Via Eurostat, Featured photo via Pixabay